Steamed clams

• 3 - 4 lb steamer clams (live) 
• 1 small onion lots of cloves of garlic 
• 1 small tomato 
• bunch cilantro 
• crushed, dried red pepper 
• 1 bottle dry white wine 
• generous butter 
• 1 lemon 

PREPARATION 

Cover the clams in fresh water with some salt and black pepper. Believe it or not, this induces them to spit out sand and grit! Be sure to use non-iodized salt (sea salt maybe), because conventional wisdom says iodine in conventional table salt will kill the clams before cooking. And you don't want to cook dead clams. After the clams have soaked for at least 30 mins, rinse them off and scrub the shells with a vegetable brush. If the shell is open, tap on it. If it doesn't close, throw away the clam. 

COOKING: 

In a large pot or wide, deep pan (my preference), saute chopped onion and garlic in generous butter. Add wine and red pepper and bring to a simmer. 

Add clams, chopped tomato, and chopped cilantro. Cover pan and steam just until clams open, about 5 - 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and be careful not to overcook, as overcooking will make them rubbery. Note that you want just enough wine to steam the clams, but not cover them (ie, steam, don't boil). Err on the side of too little liquid: the clams will release their own liquor as they cook! So if you use too much liquid initially, you'll not only have too much by the time you're done, but you'll dilute the delicious natural clam broth. And that would be a shaaaaame, believe me. :) 

SERVING: 

Discard any clams that didn't open (these were dead before cooking). Transfer clams to deep plates or flat bowls with a large, flat spoon, being sure to include some liquid and veggies from the pan. Slice lemon and squirt lots of lemon juice over each plate. Eat with bread and the rest of the wine. Soooo good!